Women and disability: exploring the interface of multiple disadvantage

Abstract

In general, women with disabilities are more discriminated against and disadvantaged than men with disabilities. In the industrialised countries there are consistent, although not necessarily large, gender differences in income, employment and education for people with disabilities. Poverty and deprivation magnify these inequalities, and can determine access to food, care and social inclusion, and even threaten survival. Women with disabilities are also at greater risk of physical, mental and sexual abuse, and because of stigmatisation have lower marriage prospects. There are more barriers to access and participation for women than for men, and mothers and caregivers in particular face enormous challenges when raising children with disabilities or chronic illnesses, especially within the context of women-headed households and early pregnancy. This article emphasises the need to approach disability as an integral part of development rather than as a separate need competing with other causes and manifestations of poverty.

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Additional information

Notes on contributors

Erna Alant

Respectively, Independent Researcher working with Centre for Augmentative and Alternative Communication (CAAC), University of Pretoria; and Professor and Director, CAAC, University of Pretoria. The authors are grateful for the useful comments and suggestions made by the two anonymous reviewers of their article.